Joxer & Gabrielle Bedtime Stories: Sleeping Beauty
by Tonee Rhian Rose
Summary: Joxer and Gabrielle have been married for five wonderful years. They have a four year old daughter named Phaedra. This is one of the stories they read to her. It's their version of Sleeping Beauty. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.


_**JOXER AND GABRIELLE BEDTIME STORIES: SLEEPING BEAUTY  
**__**by Tonee Rhian Rose**_

Joxer and Gabrielle had been married for five glorious years. They had a beautiful little blonde haired, brown eyed girl named Phaedra who was almost four years old. When it was her bedtime, she would always ask, "Mommy, Daddy, can you tell me a story?"

"Sure honey," Gabrielle would always reply. "What would you like to hear; a story about Hercules?" Phaedra would always shake her head no.

Then Joxer would ask, "How about a story about Xena?" Again, she would shake her head no.

"Well, what story would you like to hear?" Gabrielle would ask.

'I wanna hear a story about a princess!' exclaimed Phaedra this time.

'Ok,' said Gabrielle. 'This story is called: The Sleeping Beauty. Once upon a time, there was a king and queen who wished very much for a child. One day, the gods blessed them with a beautiful daughter whom they named Aurora because she came with the dawn. To celebrate, they invited all the gods and goddesses; all except for Discord to a huge banquet party. The party went on for hours and everyone was having a good time; even Hera who was well-known for being a sourpuss. Soon it was time for the gods and goddesses to bestow gifts upon the child.

'Artemis gave her the gift to understand all animals, Athena gave her a sharp mind and a sharp tongue to match, Ares gave her the skills of a warrior, Apollo gave her a fiery personality, Hermes gave her the gift of swiftness, Cupid gave her the gifts of love and beauty, and the Muses gave her the gifts of music, poetry, and eloquence. Just as Aphrodite was about to bestow her gift upon the child; Discord appeared in a ball of white lightning into the room.

'"How dare you not invite me to this party?!" she shouted. "But that's okay, I forgive you," she said with an evil grin. "I too have a gift for the child." She walked over to the child and said, "I have a special gift, the child will grow up with all the gifts my fellow gods and goddesses have bestowed upon her, but on the day of her sixteenth birthday, she will prick her finger on the needle of a spinning wheel and DIE!!" she said as she laughed maniacally. Then she disappeared in a ball of white lightning from the room.

'The king and queen rushed over to baby Aurora with worried expressions on their faces. The queen picked her up and said tearfully, "Oh what a cruel fate our child has!"

'Aphrodite said, "Chillax people, I haven't yet bestowed my gift. Though I can't exactly change what will happen except for the part about her dying."

'"Can you really do that?" the king asked.

'"Totally, fer sure!" she said in her valley girl language. "True she will prick her finger on a spinning wheel, but instead of dying, she will fall into a deep sleep that will last a hundred years or until her one true love kisses her."

'This however did nothing to ease their worries. The king ordered that every single spinning wheel in the entire kingdom should be burned in a great bon fire. Then he decreed that no one in the entire kingdom shall own another spinning wheel until after this terrible day has passed.

'The years passed by quickly and soon Aurora grew into a beautiful young lady. She had long dark hair and piercing blue eyes; just like Xena. She was a kick-butt, ask questions later sort of woman. She wouldn't tolerate anyone bullying someone weaker than they were. Soon it would be her sixteenth birthday, unfortunately that day, the king and queen had to deal with some urgent business in one of the outer provinces. They kissed her goodbye and promised they'd be returning later that evening for her party.

'While they were gone, Aurora decided to explore the castle. Soon she'd gone through every room except for the one in the highest tower. She started to climb the stairs and soon she'd reached the top. When she looked inside, she saw an old woman; who was really Discord in disguise. "Who are you?" she asked the old woman.

'"My dear child," Discord said in her sweetest voice, "I am your grandmother."

'"What are you doing there, grandmother?" Aurora asked curiously.

'"I'm making this wool into yarn using this spinning wheel. Would you like to try it?" Discord asked.

'"Oh, yes! I would like to very much!" exclaimed Aurora.

'So Discord gave Aurora her seat. No sooner did she sit down and begin to spin; she pricked her finger on the spindle.'

'What's a spindle, mommy?' asked Phaedra curiously.

'It's the needle of a spinning wheel,' explained Gabrielle and she continued the story. 'Now when she had pricked her finger, she suddenly became very dizzy. "What's the matter child?" asked Discord who now had an evil tone to her voice.

'"I don't know grandmother. All of a sudden I don't feel so good," Aurora said weakly.

'"Maybe I should take you outside for some fresh air," Discord said, for she had seen Aurora's parents returning to the castle and thought it'd be a nice bonus for her to see the reactions on their faces. So she helped her down the long spiral staircase. When she was in eyesight of Aurora's parents, she let her go. Aurora fell to the ground as if she were dead.

'The king and queen ran over to their daughter's lifeless body. The king grabbed the old woman and shook her angrily. "Who are you?!" he demanded. She jerked free from his grasp and laughed maniacally as she changed back to her true form. "**DISCORD**!!" he bellowed. "**WHAT HAVE YOU DONE**?!"

'Discord smiled an evil smile and said, "I warned you that this would happen; now you have to live with it!" Then she disappeared in a ball of white lightning.

'The queen knelt down beside her daughter and held her while she rocked back and forth and cried. Suddenly, Aphrodite appeared in the courtyard in a ball of orange lightning. "Don't be afraid, she is only sleeping," she said.

'"Really? Are you sure?" asked the sobbing queen.

'"Totally!" exclaimed the goddess. Now take her upstairs and put her into her bed."

'The king picked Aurora up and carried her upstairs to her bedchamber and placed her on top of her bed. "Now what do we do?" he asked.

'"Now get everyone in the castle into their beds. I'll get Hypnos to put everyone to sleep so when she is awakened, she won't be without her friends and family," she said. When the king and queen had gotten everyone in bed, they went to their own bedchamber and lay down in their own bed. Aphrodite then called Hypnos down from Mount Olympus. He appeared in a ball of purple lightning. He was dressed in purple robes, had short white blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. She explained the situation to him and asked him if he could cast a spell and put everyone in the castle asleep.

'"No problem," he said yawning for he was always sleepy. "I'll get right on it. When he was done, he disappeared in a ball of purple lightning.

'Then Aphrodite called upon Flora to cover the entire castle in a thorny vine that would only part when Aurora's true love came along for only he and he alone could awaken her. Flora had appeared in a ball of green lightning and she had long, curly red hair which was pinned back with a leaf shaped clip, and emerald green eyes. She wore a sleeveless, strapless dress; the top was a forest green colored velvet and the skirt was sea foam green colored lace which was divided into many leaf shaped pieces which overlapped each other. She wore an olive green colored armband on her right arm; which looked like a vine had wrapped itself around her arm. She was barefoot except for a green leafy anklet around her left ankle.

'She faced towards the castle and lifted her hands. Slowly thorny vines with big beautiful blue roses grew up over the entire castle. When she was finished, she disappeared in a ball of green lightning. A short time later, Aphrodite disappeared in a ball of orange lightning.'

At this point, Gabrielle decided to stop the story there because she noticed that it was getting late. 'Time for bed Phaedra,' she said yawning. 'Your mommy and daddy have to get up early to work the farm.'

'But mommy, can't we stay up a little longer? It was just getting good!' pleaded Phaedra.

'I'm afraid not honey,' Joxer said. 'Don't worry; I'll finish it tomorrow night.'

'Okay daddy,' she said as she kissed them both goodnight.

The next night, as promised, Joxer continued the story. 'Year after year went by and many princes tried to get through the vine, but none succeeded. Some tried chopping it with their swords; none of their efforts even made a dent. Some tried tying a rope to it to pull it out; they couldn't budge it an inch. Some even tried to burn it, but they couldn't even get a spark going. This was some tough stuff, let me tell you!' he said as he winked at Gabrielle and Phaedra. Phaedra giggled. He just smiled and continued on with the story, 'One day, a prince who was as big and strong and handsome as Hercules came along the road to the castle.

'In the town just outside the castle, the prince stopped at the local tavern. "Can I get a mug of mead and a room for the night?" he inquired.

'"The room is ten dinars and the mead is two dinars," said the burly bartender. "Say, stranger, you're not from around here. Where are you from?"

'"I am from Corinth," said the prince as he paid his twelve dinars.

'"You wouldn't happen to be a prince, would you?" the bartender asked as he handed him the mug of mead.

'"Yes I am, why do you ask?" he asked the bartender while eyeing him suspiciously.

'"Oh, no reason really, it's just that there's a castle at the end of this road and legend has it that there's a princess that lives there and she's been cursed by the goddess Discord to sleep until her prince comes to wake her," he said.

'"Maybe I could be the one to wake her," said the prince.

'"Many have tried and failed, uh... What is your name?" asked the bartender.

'"It's Theodoros,' said the prince.

'"Well, Theodoros," said the bartender, "let me tell you, it's not an easy task. There's a thorny vine that covers the entire castle. It can't be chopped, pulled, or burned."

'"I see,' said Theodoros thoughtfully. "Nevertheless, I must try. Perhaps I can think of something no one else has." With that said, he bade the bartender goodnight and climbed the stairs to his room.

'He lay down on his bed and he thought and thought. Suddenly an idea came to him. "If I can't chop it, pull it, or burn it, perhaps I can simply tunnel underneath it. It's brilliant!" he thought. The next morning, he went to the blacksmith and purchased a shovel and headed towards the castle. When he reached the castle he was all ready for some rigorous digging, but the vines parted allowing him to gain entrance. As he walked through the gate, the vines came together so as to allow no one else to enter.

'As he searched through each room, he noticed that every person and animal was sound asleep. He searched high and low for the princess and finally, he came to her bedchamber. There she lay on her bed wearing a beautiful blue dress and a single red rose clutched in her hands. "She is so beautiful," he thought. "Perhaps a kiss will awaken her." He leaned down and tenderly kissed her on the lips.

'At that moment she began to stir. She slowly opened her eyes. "Who are you?" she asked when she saw the prince.

'He bowed to her and said, "I am Prince Theodoros of Corinth. You have been asleep for a very long time; the unfortunate consequences of a curse, but I have broken it."

'The princess smiled and said, "Thank you! My name is Aurora." They talked for a while about this and that and eventually they got around to the subject of marriage. He proposed to her and she said, "Yes, of course I'll marry you." They walked down the stairs hand in hand, and found that everyone was waiting for them. Aurora and Theodoros announced to everyone that they were getting married to which everyone cheered.

'That night they had a huge celebration. They invited everyone in the town. They celebrated until well after Midnight. Soon afterwards, Princess Aurora and Prince Theodoros were married and they lived happily ever after. The end.'

'That was a good story mommy and daddy,' said Phaedra. 'Can you tell me another?'

'Not tonight sweetheart,' said Gabrielle as she tucked her in and kissed her goodnight.

'Perhaps tomorrow,' said Joxer as he also kissed her goodnight. 'Now it's time for bed.'

They told her many more stories afterwards, but the next one will have to wait till later.


End file.
